Author: Jason

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Comfort Zone

Wow!  What a fantastic week!  Ray and Joel did a great job sharing their experiences and trials this week, and I want to thank them for that.  Amy and I are heading to meet up with the boys this morning.  They just finished up a week of skim boarding camp in Delaware.

The interesting thing about that is that one of them was just not really excited about this at all and was quite nervous about the proposition.  It was the whole concept of a new endeavor that had him a little worried.  Turns out, or so it seems, he has had a very enjoyable experience. And it was the same for us, this is the first time we had left both boys and gone our own way for YEARS ( maybe FOREVER).

And so it is with our lives.  Ray even referred to it yesterday.  Sometimes, we feel so comfortable in our own place that its hard to leave that comfort zone and experience new things, or even to challenge our selves to grow.  But as Mary Poppins says “a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down” and as our Lord and Savior says ” a mustard seed of faith moves mountains”.

Step out there today.  Whether it is forcing yourself to speak to someone, sharing your faith, expressing your thoughts, experiencing something new, or even ordering something different from the menu!  Or Maybe you need to let go, as Amy and I did, but in a larger sense and put more of the handling of life’s events in the hands of the Lord.  Do it today, step out of your comfort zone and see where you get taken.

8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (New International Version)

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Its a Jolly Holiday

Last night Amy and I were blessed to be able to watch Mary Poppins at the Kennedy Center as we kicked off another week of summer holiday.  And of course Mary is one to remind you of the good things in life and to take advantage of all the opportunities for treating others right.

So I go off for a few days, and a few of my fellow buffeters keep up the encouragement for the remainder of the week.  But before I do here is a simple reminder to always consider others and and keep  a check on the words you use throughout the day today.

11 A word aptly spoken
is like apples of gold in settings of silver. Proverbs 25:11 (NIV)

You can never underestimate the power of the words you use.  Make sure they are supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

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Paid in Full

I dunno about you but I hate paying bills.  It’s not so much about getting rid of the money ( although that part is stinky), is more about the accounting and making sure it’s paid on the correct date and getting the right amount and all of that stuff.  For those things that I don’t have automatically paid, it’s a struggle every month.  Usually there is a frantic middle of the night rush on the due date to pay the bill.  What a blessing on line bill pay is.

So isn’t it good to know that as followers of the Christ, there is no due date.  Well, there will be a judgement day, and for those not follower the Christ, that will be quite a problem.  But for those who have put on the grace and mercy of Christ, your sins will have been paid in full, and on the due date, your balance due will be a big fat zero!

23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (New International Version)

So, doesn’t knowing that you owe nothing and that its been paid for you provide some relief from the anxiety of the day and create a desire to repay that through your actions?  Get out there and impact those around you today.

Its freeeeeeeeeeeee!

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Enliven your speech

One of the groups I work with has this sort of goofy recognition program call “Pizza Slices”, where when one of your coworkers does something worth while or whatever, you send then a mythological pizza slice, by recognizing their work via a nice email.

Well, one of our fellow daily buffeters, and recent contributor, Joel A,  has been on fire with these lately.  Not quantity, but quality.  He has been encouraging others and building them up with his words – his enlivened words.  That’s a great way to impact people.  Even though his pizza slice was not for me, his encouragement of others has even given me some encouragement.  Sort of reminds me of the type of reaction that the gifts from God spurn in us!

15-17So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, The Message)

How will you enliven your speech to impact others today?

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Stir it up

Recently, I have been trying out this online task manager called Remember The Milk. It seem pretty good at helping me keep track of the little things that I am always forgetting.  Yesterday, I was messing around in 2 Peter  and I stumbled into this set of verses:

12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. 13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you,

Yes, its right to keep reminding you, The Message might even make the point stronger

12-15Because the stakes are so high, even though you’re up-to-date on all this truth and practice it inside and out, I’m not going to let up for a minute in calling you to attention before it. This is the post to which I’ve been assigned—keeping you alert with frequent reminders—and I’m sticking to it as long as I live.

But what is it that would stir you up so much with a reminder?  What message is so important that we should constantly alert ourselves about it? It’s this one found earlier in the chapter

3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

and here

10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

That’s a great promise of a great reward, and that’s the reason we buffet ourselves daily.  So I thought it good today that I stir you up by reminding you of these truths.  So I think I will need to add an reminder in Remember the Milk that pops up each day to remind me to “Remember the Promise”.  It’s something that should keep us focused on the good things in life.  What will you do with the promise today?